24 Dec 2020 13:53:00
Dele Alli should be up for transfer I reckon, after getting toasted by Colombo last night. Suit us guys? 🤔.
24 Dec 2020 18:10:06
No thanks has a ego problem.
24 Dec 2020 23:33:41
Instead of Ali what about Eriksen?
Available on loan or to buy.
Currently on high wages but Inter may well be willing to either pay an element to get him out on loan or reduce transfer fee (read £12m) to make over all cost more reasonable.
Note as I said before the season started I would be saying farewell to Moutinho and if he goes when Eriksen arrives then his salary would make a sizeable contribution to Eriksen's wage.
Eriksen has struggled in Italy but was sensational for Spurs and is still young - 28.
Unfortunately there will be lots of competition for his signature and we may not look that attractive to him at the moment but surely worth trying as he is the goal scoring, creative attacking mid we desperately need.
Indeed other than a ready to play CF and possibly a RCB the AM is most pressing need in the team.
To finance any moves - which may be required due to FFP and our high spend last summer on Semedo and Silva - I would be willing to sell one of our left sides defenders. We have 6 - Kilman, Boly, Saiss, RAN, Johhny and Marcal - probably Saiss. {Why do we have 6 and indeed bought 2 of them this summer and only have 2 right sides ones Hoever and Semedo neither of whom are obvious first choice RCBs or some might say RWBs but that is another post}.
I accept that Saiss and Moutinho alone won't raise enough to buy Eriksen, the new RCB (Tarkowski is seemingly available although v pricey) and a stop gap CF, (Josh King was mentioned), but 7 or 8 places in the Prem league table - quite possibly what not buying the quality players we need will cost us - is worth not far short of £20m pa in prize money alone.
Over the 5 years of the contracts this pays the transfer fees differential and the increase in the wage bill. Hence solving all FFP issues!
Obviously if we think Johhny is coming back soon and will play RWB with Marcal at LWB we could try and cut our losses on Semedo (Dont think we should but. ) and depending how much we lose on the deal the wage savings (Semedo is allegedly one of the highest paid players in the squad) would make things a lot easier and the cash from his fees would help fund the purchases as well.
Thoughts?
25 Dec 2020 07:48:00
Really interesting post Future. I don't disagree with your logic, I personally wouldn't miss Moutinho despite how good he's been it is time to move on. The left sided mass we have is a shambles, and I've read we're once again interested in Zinchenko!
I would love to see Tarkowski! Last summer I had 2 wishes at CB, him and Dunk, unfortunately Dunk signed a new long term deal at Brighton (god knows why?! ) another name I'd throw in is Ben White, although I think Brighton will want a small fortune for him.
Who to lose from the left side is a conundrum as I genuinely like them all. Saiss makes sense as he for me is the weakest (I prefer Kilman) but Nuno loves him and so does the squad so would that unsettle us further? I don't know.
I would probably stick with all of them for the time being with a view to phasing out Marcal over the next 18 months.
1000% behind Eriksen although in Podence and Vitinha I believe we have adequate number 10s, so do we need another winger? Someone to change the game? Is it worth a punt on someone like Zaha? Probably not my first choice but struggling for other names to come to mind.
I would be gutted if King was our solution, just my personal view he flatters to deceive. Would much rather see Origi but no doubt there are better options than him.
I think we have to stick with Semedo. I would however take him out of the team for a few weeks and play Hoever that may light a fire in him.
Merry Christmas all!
{Ed001's Note - to answer your question regarding Dunk, he is a lifelong Brighton fan and their club captain.}
25 Dec 2020 08:42:19
Fair comment Ed. But who wouldn't give all that up to come to the mighty Wolves and play behind Neves?!
In all seriousness, I'm a huge fan of his. Him, Tarkowski or White for me take us to the next level. Especially at Centre Half I think you need players that know the league inside and out.
{Ed001's Note - do you rate Tarkowski? I am not convinced, for me he is yet another centre-back, in a long line of them, that is being made to look better than he is by the way Burnley play and, mostly, by having Ben Mee alongside him. Mee is the key player for the Clarets, it is noticeable that their runs of poor form almost always coincide with him going out injured. I will never understand why no one has bought him.}
25 Dec 2020 09:10:22
I rate them both. I've got a soft spot for defenders that can actually defend and Mee, Dunk and Tarkowski are proper defenders. They'll put their bodies on the line and the 2 goals we conceded against Burnley don't happen with any of them in the side. White is a proper footballer and a decent defender too, he would be more of a Nuno signing.
{Ed001's Note - I just find Tarkowski all over the place positionally, which is why he regularly has to throw his body in when he could have just seen out the danger.}
25 Dec 2020 10:25:28
You're right Ed. Ben Mee makes Tarkowski a better player.
{Ed001's Note - I can't understand why no one signed him, especially when you consider how few left-footed centre-backs there are around with any quality.}
25 Dec 2020 16:14:19
Ed -Surely you mean except at Wolves.
{Ed001's Note - erm. Not sure I do. You seem to rarely have a left-footed centre-back when I watch you, and those that you do (Saiss for example) I would not really class as quality. Competent (but incredibly rash) in Saiss's case, but not really quality.}
25 Dec 2020 16:36:23
ed - it was tongue in cheek.
{Ed001's Note - sorry mate, I didn't realise. I sat there racking my brains going through your squad listing and everything looking for top quality left-footers. That's the issue with getting old and falling asleep at random times, it takes hours to wake your brain up and by then it is time to go back to bed!}
25 Dec 2020 16:37:53
Tks Matt
Re Podence – who I think is our best player by the way – I agree he seems to have all the attributes for a number 10 but he himself seems to want to play out wide?
Also at the moment none of the plethora of formations Nuno is flip flopping about with actually have a 10 in them
If everyone was fit i'd go 3331 with
boly, coady saiss
otto neves, marcal
Traore podence neto
Jimenez
But with all the injuries at the moment
Id go
3 4 1 2
Same back 3
Semedo for otto and Moutinho in the 4
Then podence as the 1 with Traore and neto providing a v short but fast front 2
With the 3 signings/ sales I mentioned
3331
Excluding injured players
tarkowski coady boly
semedo neves marcal
Podence Ericksen neto
king
With everyone fit
tarkowski coady boly
otto neves marcal
neto Eriksen Podence
Jimenez
Thoughts?
25 Dec 2020 17:15:30
Hi Future
Interesting selection but only 1 player in the middle of midfield seems like suicide to me. For me it has to be 4231 or my ultimate preference is 3412 and get our width solely from the wingbacks.
I totally agree with you on podence, but surely he's instructed to play wide? What player with his quality doesn't want the freedom to run the show from number 10?
Also I noticed no Dendonker in any of your selections, you not a fan? He's the first name on the team sheet for me, worst case scenario he's the best cb we've got but the work he does in midfield is so underappreciated. Also I'm very anti King. Would rather Origi who has something to prove before the Euros, but I'm sure there are better options.
25 Dec 2020 20:09:33
In the 3331 selections I guess when we don't have the ball or it becomes tricky we switch into 541 with the 2 WBS dropping into a back 5 and the next 3 joining Neves as a 4
But I agree CM is a weakness - has been all year!
Apropos Dendonker I like him a lot but I fear he is a jack not a master - hence perfect sub. He is a possible RCB and a possible CM but his athleticism and effort can't out weigh his lack of quality on the ball for me.
His best position for me is DCM playing as a man to man marker but who still has the energy to burst forwards and pop up in the box - he should score quite a few but is not a good finisher sadly.
Agree re Podence and Nuno's instructions - similarly with Traore who surely needs to come inside rather than drive to the corner flag and cross to an empty box. Traore is a big fav of mine but his lack of end product is starting to grate ( think others have long since given up on him! )
Don't disagree re King but I have no better realistic option that I can pronounce or have heard of ( lots of names postulated by others! ) now that Giroud has played himself out of our reach.
25 Dec 2020 20:22:03
Ed - you do a brilliant job and seem to me to be v sharp witted, loved your Ken Dodd tales.
But completely agree about falling asleep - you may note I post at all hours often v late at night. Still getting used to retirement in this truly awful year and joining the site and chatting with all the chaps has been a real godsend.
{Ed001's Note - good year to retire though! I am glad you found the site, you have been an excellent addition.}
25 Dec 2020 20:33:39
The Giroud one is a shame as he would've been ideal. I could not agree more with your Traore assessment.
Traore for me, I love him but as a footballer he is so far below the level of others we have in the squad and for me, in a side that has been so successful based on work rate he is a luxury we cannot afford. He is also with his attributes possibly our most expensive asset and therefore may be the key to adding 2 top quality players to the squad.
I have seen people crying out for a new CM and although it is hard to argue with their logic, I'm going to try.
I agree Donk needs more goals but in his defence, he has hit the woodwork twice this season and had a few great saves to his efforts. He could very easily be on 6 goals so far and I wonder where we'd be in the league? Would there be so much negativity around the season so far? Fine margins I guess. Neves' lack of goals doesn't bother me in the slightest, I see him as our quarter back, dictating play and setting the tempo. His lack of form in these areas does concern me however, but form is temporary, class is permanent.
I truly believe in neves and dendonker we have a midfield most in the league would kill for. As I've said before, the main issue I see is a lack of structure around an out and out number 10. An option to go down the middle rather than just out wide.
I think our squad as is, is good enough for the top 6 I really do, IF a number 10 is employed correctly. That being said of course if better players are available then get them, but this is unlikely in January.
We need a striker in January to help Fabio no doubt and a third striker, (perhaps someone who could double up as a winger) Origi perhaps? Would no doubt be a useful addition long term. But on the whole I agree with Nuno, we DO have the answers in the squad to be a long term success.
We have to remember that pre Rauls injury we were hardly prolific and that for me is the number 10 issue. We sort out that link between defence and attack and we're 80% there. If we can get a tune out of Semedo and Ait Nouri and I think we can be feared across Europe.
It's taken me a few days to feel positive about the squad again!
25 Dec 2020 21:20:58
Matt - great post!
Stafford posted a reply to one of my negative rants the other day that made me stop and think about the team and he and you are correct we do have a great squad and with just a little bit of luck (and perhaps Jimenez not getting injured) we could easily end the season challenging for Europe again.
Fingers crossed.
25 Dec 2020 22:13:11
I'll keep everything crossed too! It may be too bigger ask this season, but hopefully Fosun are committed and we can keep our best players and maybe next season we can do something special!
I'm not retired sadly (30) but in the 20 odd years I've followed Wolves properly I have never been so excited or proud to watch the side. The frustration we all feel is due to how garbage we've been for so long and no all of a sudden we have a side that can regularly compete with the big boys.
Maybe it's all the Turkey making me pragmatic but we're on the cusp of doing something really special!
26 Dec 2020 00:59:08
Well apart from the Doog and Richards teams of early 70s and for a v short period of Gray and Richards in the late 70s this is indeed as good as it has got - pretty low bar mind - for me as well and I've been watching since 60s! .
Jan will tell if we are willing to invest the money required to stay in the Europe shout ( this year) or if we are only willing to wait and hope that it will return a bit later when (and if) Hoever, Vitor, RAN and Silva etc mature.
Hope we can remain competitive at the upper end of the table again this year but accept that with all the injuries and the transfer strategy was followed last summer that is a big big ask.